Volkswagen (VW) has announced the closure of its transaction with Europcar, which forms part of its new auto strategy for the global mobility services market.
The German automotive OEM hopes to be a major player in global sustainable mobility services, with Europcar as a cornerstone of its future all-in-one platform.
Europcar offers fleet management capabilities across a network of stations at major airports, railway stations and urban locations.
Consortium partners Attestor and Pon Holdings and Volkswagen hope to expand Europcar’s mobility offering to include a range of services, such as car sharing for a few hours or car subscription for several months.
VW, Porsche Bank and Europcar have also partnered for pilot projects, which will reportedly begin as early as Q4 2022 in Vienna. Hamburg is expected to follow in Q1 2023.
Christian Dahlheim, CEO of Volkswagen Financial Services, said: “We are really excited that our customer-centric vision of future mobility materialises with the closing of the Europcar transaction.
“Its dedicated team brings important capabilities and assets to the table that help us to realise our plans swiftly.
“Our expectation is that by far most people will still prefer individual mobility by 2030, but it will be more about using and less about owning vehicles.
“Our new mobility platform will perfectly respond to this trend with a highly flexible and convenient offering at our customers’ fingertip.”
The consortium plans to host all of its services on a single app, offering a range of functions including car rentals, subscriptions, ride-hailing and more. The group also hopes to add autonomous vehicles to the fleet.
Trials in Munich and Hamburg are currently testing VW’s first autonomous ID. It aims to provide its first commercial autonomous mobility service in Europe in 2025, shortly followed by the USA.
